Manic Monday #15: Peace

Isn't it strange that the object of war is peace? But that isn't where I'm going with this post. I don't want to get all deep and philosophical now -- not that I often am. Well, maybe sometimes after being exposed to certain stimulants of a physical or mental nature.

Like chocolate.

Everyone knows that chocolate is not only delicious, it can make you feel good. And so it got me to thinking (ignore how I try -- and fail -- to segue smoothly into Morgen's Manic Monday topic this week) about its role in history and in peace-making. Legend has it that the Aztecs bribed the great but terrible god Quetzalcoatl with indecent amounts of chocolate to leave them in peace. Chocolate as a bribe wasn't that effective apparently for them because the Spanish conquistadores still came and, well, conquered.

In more recent history, some members of the Allied Forces proferred chocolate (part of their rations) to starving prisoners in Europe at the end of World War II. It was because of this that chocolate came to symbolize peace and freedom in certain circles. Isn't that a nice idea? There are many things in this world that divide people. But it's also true that even something as simple and innocuous as chocolate has the power to bring us together. Those of us who love chocolate anyway. As chocolatier Vosges Haut-Chocolat proclaims, "we just may come one step closer to bringing peace to the world through chocolate. One Love, One Chocolate." Of course, exercise should be part of the peace-through-chocolate movement. Vigorous, calorie-burning exercise that not only feels good (wink wink) but also eliminates the guilt that can arise from eating chocolate again. And again. And yet again.

Hey, Mimi, maybe you can make chocolate Peace Globes one day. :-)